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DEATH INDEX ADVICE (tracing burial details)

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  • DEATH INDEX ADVICE (tracing burial details)

    Apologies for the simplicity of this request... but I'm new to the whole "tracing my ancestors game"...

    I have recently discovered that my Great Great Grandfather is listed as having dies in Worthing in 1942. That's my home town so would love to track down his burial place if I can.

    The Death Index has the district listed as Worthing, Volume 2b, Page 538... firstly, I'm hoping that this is Worthing in Sussex and not the one in Suffolk... secondly, how do I go about finding a record of burial with this information ? What does the "volume" and "page" reference refer to ?

    As always, the greater knowledge of the readers of this Forum is greatly appreciated !

    regards,

    Nick

  • #2
    The numbers in your index reference are from the GRO (General Record Office). Each registration area has its own volume number and the second number is which page within the volume that the entry appears.
    Just to confuse matters, local registration offices have their own system of reference numbers which are different to those of GRO.

    You are lucky in that you can get a copy of the death cert electronically from GRO for only £6GBP at the moment as they are having another trial. Certs normally cost £9.25 from them by post and £10 plus postage from local registration offices. You need to register on GRO site first then make your order.


    You do not say the deceased's name so I went to ancestry site and entered the date year, volume and page number hoping to see what county would come up but there are no results.
    Are you certain you have the numbers correct?

    To find the burial place, you could either go to the council's main library/archive centre and look for a funeral notice in a local newspaper once you have the exact death date from the certificate or you could telephone the local council Parks and Burials department or whatever they might be called. Bereavement Services is another popular name for the same department. You will likely have to pay a fee for them to release grave information and they will want to know the date and place of death. Some councils (like my own) are very helpful and will look for a burial in the expected cemetery and if not found, they will look in the nearest surrounding ones as well. Others are at the opposite extreme and you actually have to tell them the exact cemetery to look in before they will look for grave details and no refund if they don't find anything. It's pot luck really :-) Once you know which council it is from the place of death, try their website first, then you will know in advance what they do or don't offer and what the charging policy is.
    Last edited by GallowayLass; 19-10-17, 12:26.

    Comment


    • #3
      Some sound advice there GL :smilee:

      also it may be that he was cremated, so you could also try ringing the local crematoriums [obvs once you have the cert you will be better informed and whoever registered the death may still be able to help in letting you know where your granddad is.]
      Julie
      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

      .......I find dead people

      Comment


      • #4
        The death certificate in itself is no use in finding burial details, but the information on the cert can sometimes help point you in the right direction. The actual date of death might lead you to a newspaper obituary. The cause of death may be surprising and again lead to further discoveries, for instance that there was a coroner's inquest. The informant too. Not many categories of people are allowed to register a death and therefore will be of interest to you and can tell you sometimes that a cremation was planned.

        In short, get the death cert!

        OC

        Comment


        • #5
          Worthing (West Sussex) registration district covers quite a large area - as far west as Arundel and Littlehampton and east to Shoreham:



          The death certificate will at least tell you which parish they died in.

          Unfortunately the web page you are trying to access is not available at this web address. We automatically log broken links...


          Information about our cemeteries and the service we provide
          Caroline
          Caroline's Family History Pages
          Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Nick Hamilton View Post
            Apologies for the simplicity of this request... but I'm new to the whole "tracing my ancestors game"...

            I have recently discovered that my Great Great Grandfather is listed as having dies in Worthing in 1942. That's my home town so would love to track down his burial place if I can.

            The Death Index has the district listed as Worthing, Volume 2b, Page 538... firstly, I'm hoping that this is Worthing in Sussex and not the one in Suffolk... secondly, how do I go about finding a record of burial with this information ? What does the "volume" and "page" reference refer to ?

            As always, the greater knowledge of the readers of this Forum is greatly appreciated !

            regards,

            Nick
            It is Worthing in Sussex - the volume mentioned covers Brighton and Horsham amongst others.

            Order the certificate as a pdf from here https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...ates/Login.asp you will need to register your details to get an account.

            The easiest way is to search the index here https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...xes_search.asp to find the entry and then simply click order pdf - the rest is simply following the screens.

            As has been said you will not see any information about the burial so that is a separate search. Have a look here https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/burial-search/
            Margaret
            Last edited by margaretmarch; 19-10-17, 19:20.

            Comment


            • #7
              Could always look at www.deceasedonline.com

              You can do a quick search by putting in the surname and first name and years to check.

              If you find it then you can pay to get the details.



              Researching Irish families: FARMER, McBRIDE McQUADE, McQUAID, KIRK, SANDS/SANAHAN (Cork), BARR,

              Comment


              • #8
                Okay... thanks for all the great advice guys...

                Have been on the GRO page to order a copy of the Death cert but (as has been alluded to by a couple of you) there is no record there ?


                Not sure if the below link will work...


                ... but it shows a Joseph W Hellis as being registered in the Death Index 1942 (Q3), District of Worthing, aged 79, Volume 2b, page 538 ??

                Comment


                • #9
                  give me a min Nick and I'll have a look for you
                  Julie
                  They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                  .......I find dead people

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Name: Joseph W Hellis
                    Death Age: 79
                    Birth Date: abt 1863
                    Registration Date: Sep 1942
                    Registration district: Worthing
                    Inferred County: Sussex
                    Volume: 2b
                    Page: 538

                    you then need to click this link to be able to order his death cert: https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/c...app_select.asp

                    it does look like he has been missed off the new index but found him just by looking in the regular Ancestry index. You can notify the GRO that he isn't on the new index and then he'll get put on.
                    Julie
                    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                    .......I find dead people

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      He is recorded as Mellis on GRO

                      Vera

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thanks Darksecretz... have ordered a copy... let's see where that takes me !

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Vera,

                          Thanks, just searched under the (wrong) surname of MELLIS and found the record... have also notified the GRO of the correct surname.

                          Nick

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by vera2013 View Post
                            He is recorded as Mellis on GRO

                            Vera
                            ah cheers Vera, I have notified GRO of it
                            Julie
                            They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                            .......I find dead people

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Nick Hamilton View Post
                              Thanks Darksecretz... have ordered a copy... let's see where that takes me !
                              You are welcome


                              Ohhh do let us know what the outcome is Nick
                              Last edited by Darksecretz; 24-10-17, 17:27.
                              Julie
                              They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                              .......I find dead people

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Okay.... now we've been in COVID-19 lockdown for a while I thought I'd get back into the family tree research and attempt to pick up where I left off... apologies it's been a while. Darksecretz - you asked me to let you know the outcome...

                                I received a copy of the death certificate that Joseph William Hellis died at 22 St. Botolphs Road, Worthing (West Sussex) and his address was listed as - Cerise 1 Cherry Walk, Salvington Hill, Worthing. In an attempt to find his final resting place I contacted the local Adur & Worthing Council who replied with -

                                "There appears to be few burial registers for Worthing parishes. I looked at the West Tarring burial register, as Salvington was originally a hamlet within the parish of West Tarring, before it became part of part of the parish of Durrington (along with High Salvington). It is now part of Worthing Borough. I did not find an entry for Joseph William Hellis in the West Tarring register of burials. The burial register for Durrington held here at West Sussex Record Office (WSRO) only goes up to 1914. Regarding other sources of information, sometimes records of deaths or burials can be found in parish magazines or there might be a note in some registers of services. Some of these records are available to look at in the Record Office Searchroom.

                                I note that the records of Worthing cemeteries were checked by Adur District & Worthing Borough Council. Have you considered that he might have been cremated? Worthing crematorium did not open until 1968 and Chichester crematorium opened in 1971, but Brighton Woodvale opened in 1930 (website: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/con...le-crematorium ) and Brighton Downs crematorium opened in 1941 (website: https://www.dignityfunerals.co.uk/cr...s-crematorium/).

                                Another possibility to consider is could Joseph Hellis have belonged to a Non-Conformist Church? However, we would then expect to find his burial in one of the municipal cemeteries, unless he was cremated.

                                It is possible that an obituary was placed in a newspaper. I have searched August and the beginning of September editions of the Worthing Gazette, which are available on the Public Access Computers in the Record Office Searchroom, but I did not find an obituary. I also searched the Newspaper Archive available on Findmypast.co.uk but, again, I did not find an obituary.

                                It can be rather time-consuming to search all of the documents mentioned and there is still the possibility that the record will not be found, but you are welcome to visit WSRO to look through the records yourself; information about visiting the Record Office, including details of our opening times and location, can be found on our website at: www.westsussex.gov.uk/ro. Alternatively, WSRO does offer a Research Service, details of which can be found on our website at: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/leisur...arch-services/ .

                                You might find it useful to obtain a copy of his Will in case he left instructions for his funeral. This can be obtained from the Probate Service at: https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills . Also, as the National Probate Calendar showed that probate had been granted to Barclays Bank Ltd, I wondered if Barclays Bank archives would be able to assist in any way. They have a website at: https://www.archive.barclays.com/


                                I am sorry that I have been unable to help you further but if you have any other queries, please contact us again."

                                NB - I can find no copy of his will at the link above. Any assistance anyone can give would be, as always, very much appreciated.


                                Nick

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  "NB - I can find no copy of his will at the link above. Any assistance anyone can give would be, as always, very much appreciated."


                                  His will is listed on https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills
                                  Make sure you click on the tab Wills and Probate 1858-1996 and search Hellis 1942. He is on page 1 of the results. Register on the site to obtain a copy of his will - still only £1.50.

                                  Christine
                                  Researching:
                                  HOEY (Fermanagh, other Ulster counties and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) BANNIGAN and FOX (Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland and Portland, Maine, USA) REYNOLDS, McSHEA, PATTERSON and GOAN (Corker and Creevy, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland) DYER (Belfast and Ballymacarrett) SLEVIN and TIMONEY (Fermanagh) BARNETT (Ballagh, Tyrone and Strangford, Down)

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                                  • #18
                                    Christine... many thanks. I have ordered a copy of the will so let's see where that takes me. I had seen the probate extract already but I guess, as a newbie, I assumed that this was the will reference so no point in ordering a copy. Oops...

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